KHCA/KCAL is committed to providing our members with important updates. Below is a list of the most recent information. Please visit our website for a list of complete updates. www.khca.org/covid-19-resources
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A Message from the AHCA/NCAL President & CEO Mark Parkinson
President to Criticize SNFs in State of the Union
Late yesterday afternoon, CMS provided us notice that the President would go after us in the State of the Union speech tonight and offer “solutions” to nursing home quality. Shortly after that, the Washington Post released a story that outlines what is in the speech.
To say the least, this is infuriating.
The criticism points to the number of COVID deaths that occurred in our facilities and makes no reference to the tens of thousands of lives saved, or the horrendous government decisions that deprived us of what we needed to adequately take care of residents. It’s time to stop blaming nursing homes for a once-in-a-century pandemic that uniquely targeted our residents and vilifying the heroic caregivers who did everything they could to protect the residents they have come to know as family.
The “solutions” fall into three major areas.
- CMS will study staffing issues and impose a minimum staffing requirement within the next year.
- CMS will increase enforcement efforts, including increasing the level of CMPs.
- There will be more transparency rules, with a particular focus on private equity investments.
Together, we should focus on meaningful solutions that can attract and retain the frontline heroes we need and strengthen delivering the quality of care and services that our nation’s seniors deserve. Providers are dedicated to learning from this pandemic, renewing our commitment to our seniors, and offering solutions that will improve the quality of care in our nation’s nursing home. With the proper resources and support, we can transform our nation’s nursing homes.
The nursing home profession has always been committed to improving the quality of care our residents receive, and we appreciate the Biden Administration joining us in this ongoing effort. Over the last decade and prior to the pandemic, the sector made dramatic improvements. Fewer people were returning to the hospital, staff were providing more one-on-one care than ever before, and the unnecessary use of antipsychotic medications significantly declined.
Those who continue to criticize the nursing home sector are the same people who refuse to prioritize our residents and staff for resources that will help save and improve lives.
AHCA will continue to fight poor policy with every asset available, and released a statement on the Administration's nursing home plan. We will provide additional information and schedule a member-wide call later this week.
Sincerely,
Mark Parkinson
President & CEO, AHCA/NCAL
Also reported by:
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State of the Union Address Nursing Home Vision
At tonight’s State of the Union address, the Biden-Harris administration is announcing a vision to improve quality of care and quality of life for nursing home residents. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be leading that charge including setting minimum staffing requirements, enhancing oversight and accountability , and making facility ownership more transparent so that potential residents and their loved ones can make informed decisions about care.
Following the State of Union, we at CMS will further outline the details of our nursing home vision and implementation strategy through national stakeholder calls, list serves, and collaboration with residents, families, providers and other stakeholders. Our next National Nursing Home Stakeholder Call will be held on March 10 at 3 p.m. ET. We will also be establishing a list serve to provide information and updates on this vision. You can find more information on the vision in this White House Fact Sheet.
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TOMORROW! Webinar: Winning the Fall Prevention Battle Series: Targeted Fall Prevention Interventions
3/2/2022 from 1:30PM - 2:30PM
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CMS wallops nursing homes with planned staffing requirements and increased penalties
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will establish minimum staffing requirements for skilled nursing facilities as part of a plan to “crack down on unsafe nursing homes,” the White House announced on Monday.
The agency said it plans to conduct a new study to determine the level and type of staffing needed to ensure safe and quality care and will issue proposed rules within one year. READ MORE
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CDC’s New COVID-19 Community Level Prevention Measure Recommendations DO NOT APPLY to Health Care Settings or Visitors
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced yesterday that they have changed the metrics used to determine personal and community COVID-19 prevention measures based on community spread. It is important to note that this change does not apply in health care settings because the consequences of spread and risk of triggering outbreaks is greater.
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Extended survey delays threaten providers
When a major government watchdog blasted the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in January for a lack of timely survey activity, it detailed extensively what providers on the ground were experiencing — or more accurately, not experiencing.
“We know the surveyors are late,” said Melanie Tribe-Scott, RN, RAC-MT, director of quality initiatives for Zimmet Healthcare Services Group. “Facilities know they’re really, really late.”
Although some states have a history of extending standard surveys beyond the 15 months expected by federal regulators, Tribe-Scott calls the stats of the last two years “mind-boggling.” READ MORE
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Clinical Update from KHCA Consultant Linda Farrar
Last week we talked about the number 1 tag in Kansas, F756, Drug Regimen Review, Report Irregular, Act On, which is certainly popping up all over the state. But the number 2 tag in Kansas is an oldie, but goodie. We have gone back to pre-COVID-19 days. It’s F812, Food Procurement, Store/Prepare/Serve-Sanitary. This is an easy tag to write because of the MULTIPLE things that can go wrong during the survey. I found an interesting article from Nutrition Care Systems addressing advice on how to stay in compliance with F812. The primary objectives of the regulations did not change with the new Rules of Participation, but there were some clarifications to surveyors. Some of the areas that are emphasized include: READ MORE
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RECORDING: 2/24/2022 Anti-Virals and Therapeutics for COVID presented by KDHE
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Call for Presentations
An essential service to our association is offering high quality training and education to our members. We invite you to join us in our commitment to delivering timely, relevant, and engaging information as we prepare for our 2022 Nurse Leadership Conference (June) and Annual Convention (September).
We are looking for topics that fit skilled nursing, assisted living, home plus and residential health care communities.
Click here to learn more on our needs and how you can submit a proposal.
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Now Available! National Skilled Nursing Care Week Planning Guide & Products - NSNCW May 8-14, 2022
The American Health Care Association is pleased to announce that National Skilled Nursing Care Week (NSNCW) products and planning guide are now available at nsncw.org.
NSNCW will take place from Sunday, May 8 to Saturday, May 14, 2022.
This year’s theme, Creating and Nurturing Connections, celebrates the important role skilled nursing care centers and staff play in providing care and social support to their residents.
Download the planning guide for activity ideas and media tips and explore our exclusive selection of NSNCW gifts and products offered through our new partner Jim Coleman, LTD.
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Stories for Careers in Aging Week
Careers in Aging Week (CIAW) this year will take place April 17-23. During this week, AHCA/NCAL is looking to highlight stories of individual caregivers and why they love their career in long term care. We would like to spotlight a variety of career paths (activities directors, nurses, CNAs, housekeeping, dietary positions, etc). The goal of CIAW is to bring awareness to the numerous career opportunities in long term care and the rewarding experiences individuals can gain from these careers. We will be spreading the word about careers in aging and celebrating its employees. Especially in light of how difficult the past few years have been, we want to highlight on social media the heroic efforts of caregivers.
If you are interested in submitting a story, please fill out this form and indicate in the submission that this is for Careers in Aging Week.
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KCAL Assisted Living Conference (in person)
Lawrence, KS
4/5/2022
8AM - 5PM
A full day of education specifically designed for those that work in the Assisted Living, Home Plus and Residential Health Care settings. Lunch will be included in the cost of your registration.
Education Topics Include:
- KCAL Update
- Regaining your ZING
- Nutrition and Mental Health in Older Adult
- Motivating your Staff During a Pandemic
- House Bill 2004
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Webinar: Winning the Fall Prevention Battle Series: Targeted Fall Prevention Interventions
3/9/2022 from 1:30PM - 2:30PM
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Webinar: The Proficient Infection Preventionist Series: Competency in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases & Basic Microbiology for the Infection Preventionist
3/15/2022 from 1:30PM - 2:30PM
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Webinar: Winning the Fall Prevention Battle Series: Engaging the Troops: Moving the Falls Program Forward Through Staff Training & Engagement Activities
3/16/2022 from 1:30PM - 2:30PM
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Webinar: Winning the Fall Prevention Battle Series: Tactical Plan for Sustained Falls Prevention Through QAPI
3/23/2022 from 1:30PM - 2:30PM
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ICD-10 Coding Workshop (in person)
3/29 - 3/30/2022
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The AHCA/NCAL Quality Summit is Back! Registration Now Open!
Quality Summit will be held in Kissimmee, FL, May 16-18.
This year’s AHCA/NCAL Quality Summit delivers three days of education programs and awesome networking opportunities with like-minded, quality professionals in long term and post-acute care. The Quality Summit offers 30 sessions topics focused on leadership, recruitment and retention, infection prevention and PDPM.
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Learn How to Create an Effective SNF Revenue Cycle Management System
AHCA offers a five-module online training program titled Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) Academy which offers training about a holistic interdisciplinary approach toward revenue management. RCM can be implemented in a building, more broadly or as an organization-wide approach to enhance revenue by minimizing losses from payments that too often are unnecessarily lost or overlooked. Click here for more details.
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Kansas Health Care Association and the Kansas Center for Assisted Living
1100 SW Gage Blvd. | PO Box 4770 | Topeka, KS 66604
PH: 785-267-6003 FAX: 785-267-0833
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